Emergency backup
by Lousy writer
Summary: "I never cared about justice, and I don't recall ever calling myself a hero... I have always only fought for the people I believe in. I won't he-" And then she was in his face, again... with that smile as if she heard the funniest thing around. "Will you ever stop selling yourself short?" He frowned at her "What? Well if you insist we can go on a killing spree, you, Ciel, Al and I"
1. Who's the boss?

Bellow the implacable desert , under the layers of sand, rock and reinforced steel, resonated Blizzack Staggroff's cries of frustation . For over fifteen minutes now he had been trying to bring that crimson menace down without success, even worse he was actually loosing. There was little doubt in the Acardian soldier's mind that it was indeed Zero, the legendary reploid, that was battling him… The sheer resilience of the android facing him was astounding, sustaining damage that would retire any lesser machine on the spot without flinching, the rate at which he repaired said damage was without a doubt helping him in that matter. Staggroff for his part was in a much worse state, his armor was barely standing together, he was clearly overheating and,as if it wasn't enough yet, missing one of his antler to boot, thus taking most of his tracking system away from him on his left side, a fact that Zero did not fail to notice and exploit. Forgoing his attempts at cooling down the Mutos reploid pushed his core to its limits and unleashed a last gust of icy winds, this one much more powerful than the ones that preceded it, the frost gathering into deadly spikes that flew toward Zero. His last ditch effort seemed successful as the intruder was pushed back by the strong wind and getting skewered by the ice construct despite his attempts at closing in on the hidden base guardian… The world stilled as Staggroff 's system went into overload, it only took two second for him to reboot and by that time there was nothing he could do to avoid the flaming saber that cut him down the middle. The two halves of the ice wielding stag separated in a torrent of sparks as Zero brought his hand to his helmet.

"This is Zero. I'm returning to base with the prisoners!"

"Ah… The last… laug-gh… will be m-" Blizzack Staggroff last come back was cut short as the two halves of his body exploded with his instable core. Zero only let out a grunt as he dropped down next to the remains of his foe, retriving a small data chip after a quick foray.

* * *

Five minutes later, a short figure watched as the small party of green-clad reploids fussed around a shuttle under the red one's supervision, presumably intending to use it as a mean to escape the Arcadian facility. Stepping through the docking bay's blasted doorway the figure announced itself. "So you managed to make it this far. Now that's impressive…" The escapees turned around at the newcomer's voice, taking in the 'intruder's' blue and female glory "…too bad someone finally used their head and called for me, uh?"

"Crap." The blue reploid's eyes shone as she saw the recognition, and subsequent fear, in the mavericks' demanor "She's one of the guardians, Fairy Leviathan…"

"Hmph. Good to see they still know about me around these parts..." The guardian commented nonchalantly as she made her spear appear in her hands "So, how about you all go back to your cells peacefully? That way it'll be much easier on everyone, don't you think?" She watched as the reploids began to fidget nervously, all but one... The red one calmly made his way to the front of the group, not taking his eyes off her for a single moment. "Oh. It seems..."

"Get out of here now. I'll take care of her." Spoke the blond. Leviathan had to concede the guy had guts, while he was certainly no pushover, offing Staggroff and all that, he was evidently worse for wear and she was on a whole over level compared to the Mhythos reploid.

"Uh? Take care of me or _take care_ of me? Sorry, but sweet-talking your way out wo..." The guardian's taunting was cut short as the opposing reploid lit up his saber and dashed at her. Not missing a beat Levithan brought her own weapon up to parry the upcoming attack. The block was successful, yet she did not expect the force behind the charge and the following shoulder ram that send them both sprawling out of the hangar and into the prison's alleys. Bringing his leg behind her one of her own her opponent attempted to tip her over while she did the same, both fell to the ground in a heap instinctively pinning the other's weapon away from their bodies with their off-hand as they struggled for dominance. Unfortunately for her Leviathan soon found herself pinned down by the the physically stronger reploid, reenforcing her grip on his wrist she searched for a way to get out of this standstill and... messages of pain surged through her brain at the powerful headbutt she received, she wondered briefly if it loosened some crews, considering she found it appropriate to make such a bad pun at a time like this it was definitely a possibility. Quickly getting her wits around her she let go of the saber-wielding arm and sent a mean right hook at the face hovering above her, forcing him further away for her she brought her legs in between them and pushed as the green blade descended upon her head , its aim threw off the blade struck just above her helmet, cutting one of its fin off, rolling backyard she kicked his chin as she brought herself to a temporary handstand before creating a thick wall of ice separating them. Getting to her feet she assumed a defensive posture as she savored her short reprieve.

The frozen divider stood for all of two seconds before it was torn down by a now flaming sword. The crimson menace was again standing before Leviathan as the sound of a transport taking of could be heard in the distance "Gee, your guys sure know how to make a run for it... Zero, right?" No answer, not that any were expected but she didn't take him for the type to just stand there without a good reason so she decided to milk it for all it was worth, the guy was strong so assessing the situation before charging in would help things get along... Her right hand grip could be better and a quick check revealed that her palm was coated in a slimy mix of fluids, taking in the form of Zero confirmed that his left shoulder's shell was punctured and leaking reddish coolant at a steady rate, other than this major major wound his body adorned many gashes that were slowly closing, Leviathan deduced that Zero needed this recuperation time much more than her and it was the reason he didn't proceed his assault further beyond establishing visual contact "Looks like the old reindeer managed to land a solid hit on you, eh?" Not that it brought her any comfort, he was clearly the worse for wear and yet sill overpowered her this easily. "Well, you don't talk much..."

"You do a good enough job of it by yourself though..." was the non-committal reply.

Leviathan grinned wildly at this "Hmm, finally... I was beginning to get bored!"

"Oh? I'll have to stop holding back then..." As soon as the words left his lips Zero ducked under a torrent of icicles and shot three fire pellets at the guardian who jumped over them. Leviathan fell down her lance aimed straight at him, he swatted her away with a swing of his saber and she rolled along the corridor's length before sticking her weapon in the metallic floor, immediately the whole space was covered with a thin layer of ice. Smirking Leviathan began to glide toward Zero at high speed. Zero found himself stuck on the defensive as he had to dodge and block both the blue guardian and her numerous ice constructs and deal with the ever changing ground, constantly alternating between sleek and ragged at the worst possible moments. Not seeing any to work around the trap Zero flared his saber at its hottest melting away the disadvantageous terrain in his near proximity before bringing it up to stop the now airborne Leviathan coming at him. The impact took an heavy tool on his weakened arm, the arm bulked slightly giving the guardian the opening she counted on. Spinning into Zero's defenses she brought her back against him and delivered an headbutt of her own as she touched the tip of her lance to his wrist, realizing her intention Zero could only utter a "Rats!" before small ice dragons bit down on his limbs restricting his movements as Leviathan brought his overheated arm to sub-zero temperatures before swinging her weapon's shaft against the heavily stressed materials of his limb effectively severing it.

Taking hold of the severed hand Leviathan shot an innocent sounding "Oops!" and shot Zero one of her more feral grins before proceeding to lay some hurt on the severely impaired reploid... At least that was her idea but it seemed that the injury only strengthened Zero's fighting spirit and she found herself held up by the neck before she could even react, the metal of her spine groaning under the pressure, unwilling to test how long she would last against his death grip the guardian attempted to stab Zero with his own weapon but the ancient machine saw it coming and sens her hurling away from him toward the deserted hangar. Impacting against an aircraft Leviathan slid to the ground, giving Zero ample time to charge at her gun ablaze, the fist few shot's sting were enough of a wake up call for the blue unit who rolled out the way, reducing the length of her halberd's shaft to one more suited to duel-wielding, the saber was encumbering enough as it was with it being still attached to a hand larger than her own... Taking a leaf from her book Zero began to run circle around her while subjecting to constant fire, the more open space did wonder to him as she was hard pressed to dodge the pellets that came at her from nearly everywhere at once. Letting out a grunt of frustration at the complete reversal of the situation Leviathan created a protective ice dome around her, the small energy bullets bounced off harmlessly of the crystalline barrier giving her some time to think of a way out of this turn of events. Once again her ice was no match for her opponent as a leg crashed into her through her defense and into herself, the force behind the blow was enough to send her through the other side of the dome. Glancing upward from her position from the ground expecting to see Zero moving in for the kill Leviathan was surprised to find she managed to nail him to the dome by his leg, a thick ice spike running through the leg that smashed her temporary shield. Not counting her blessings, the ice pylon holding him in place was already crackling after all, she slammed her dagger to the ground a thin layer of ice instantly connecting it to the dome which exploded outward, successfully impaling Zero . The air stood still as the crimson maverick stood unmoving, tentatively Leviathan retracted the spikes and Zero slumped to the ground face first. Still disbelieving she brought herself to a sitting position, not finding any strength to get further up, and began to kick at the unconscious reploid's head. No reaction... after some time she decided he was not faking it and burst into laughs. This fight was the most intense she ever experienced and the guy nearly got her more that she was comfortable with despite entering already considerably weakened, Staggroff definitely deserved a medal once he was rebuilt for she doubted any of the guardians could defeat this Zero on their own if he was at full strength.

A continuous noise coming from the downed bot's pulled her from her near hysteria, apparently someone was becoming particularly vocal in trying to contact him... Taking some time to rest Leviathan distracted herself by examining the severed hand and weapon in her possession. A quick survey of the hand picked her interest "My, my, aren't you full of surprise Mr Zero?" Dragging herself closer to him she rolled him onto his back and began to inspect him more closely, letting go of her dagger she felt under his armor, so similar to the guardian's ones in design "Still alive? Talk about resilient... Now it's becoming annoying!" The unending muffled cries finally got to her nerves an she yanked Zero's helmet off and brought it awkwardly near her own face "Yes?"

"_ZER- Who are you and what have you done to Zero?"_ The high pitched voice was indicative of a female speaker, Leviathan hazarded a guess.

"Dr... Dr Ciel I presume..." Of all the time to forget a surname... She would have to get her head checked soon, until she had to settle for familiarity. "The pretty boy is alive and will be brought before a Neo-Arcadian court for trial. Now, despite the futility of the endeavor, I must ask you to cease your criminal activities and surrender yourself to Justice" Please be reasonable... Please be reasonable...

"_Wha- The resistance will not give up!"_ So much for that...

"What resistance? Your bunch of mavericks? You're charged with forceful reprogramming of peaceful reploids, constitution of a maverick force and dissidence, calling yourself a fancy title doesn't change the facts. Surrender now and you will all be granted a fair trial."

"_I fail to see the fairness of it all when the verdict is invariably guilty..."_

"Master X himself is seeing to the proper execution of justice. The trials can't be nothing but fair, Dr." It seemed to shut her up, perhaps it was enough to kick some reason into the child's head? Giving her some time to answer Leviathan turned her attention to the silver cylinder that was Zero's saber, it seemed to react well enough to her energy output and a quick test revealed it was able to produce ice as easily as it did fire, now to discover if it handled elemental manipulation of its own or synced with the wielder one's. Changing the frequency of her energy signature acted like a switch bringing forth sparks and lightning coursing the blade's length, so the special effects were the weapon's work, a little more meddling unveiled more secrets "How sweet! I think we could be great friends, my beauty." Not only could it change elemental alignement but it could also switch in between forms as it was now a spear, so much potential... Dr Ciel's voice brought her out of her scientific venture. "Could you repeat that? I didn't quite caught it..."

"_I said you cannot expect impartiality from an impersonator. X would never condemn this slaughter."_

Using the transformed saber as a crutch Leviathan got to her feet "Now you listen Missy . You know nothing of master X. What do you think? That he would just hug any maverick and all would be forgotten, everyone give a good cry and then it's all rainbows and ponies and stuff? You know nothing of his plight.. how much it affects him..."

"_How he goes sullen when he has to make a choice he doesn't like?"_ The scientist cut in _"Isolating himself, drowning into his work, pushing everyone away because he doesn't want anyone to share his burden. X is so different from himself during a crisis, that's why it would that difficult to make the difference, that's- that's why I did it, ther-"_

The guardian let out something that was between a laugh and snarl as she interrupted Ciel "And you want me to believe you built a copy of master X that could even fool us? Let me guess his early return was in fact your copy taking his place? 6 years ago, what were you then, 5 or something? What's next? Your evil twin sister is actually ruling the city from the shadows?You better find another story soon or I'll come and get you myself."

"_I wasn't alone and I don't have anything to gain by lying to you."_ Oh really? "_X was nowhere to be found, maverick activity was scaling up, the energy crisis stuck at the same time... Unrest was growing, we needed a reassuring figure to buy us some time until a new energy source could be created. I didn't expect him to turn maveick! By the time I tried to confront him about it it was too late! I barely managed to escape before being put under arrest, the others didn't get that chance..."_

"Cut on the sob story girl, it's not working..." The guardian made to stop the communication when a slight movement caught her eye "I don't think so Rapunzel!" Too late, Zero had woken up somewhere during their exchange and here they were each holding the other's weapon at their neck. At least she had the high ground... "Great, how stupid can I get? Should have seen it coming..."

"Who knows? I'm in no position to complain though..."

_What's happening? Zero, is that you? ZEROOO!"_

"Calm down, girl. We're having a stand-off here. Want me to pass on a message maybe? So I guess there's two way out of this mess, uh Zero?"

"More or less... Don't try and push your luck, who knows what may happen?"

"So we both go our merry way then? Do you want to trade back? I'm kinda attached to this thing in your hand, a gift from my dear old dad you see, and I guess you were pretty attached to this one until recently." Both tilted their spear so their adversary could take hold of it "On three?"

"Zero is enough..." Leviathan smirked as they both pulled on their end. "My helmet?"

"You look better without it..."

"Whatever."

"Yeah, yeah... Just give me a moment to say goodbye." Zero didn't bother to respond to that so she took it as a yes "Well girl, congrats on making me loose my cool, I won't let it slide next time so no more lies..."

"Don't trust me... See for yourself. _Just try to see if he remember something only you and X know, you'll see..."_

"No promise." She tossed the helmet back to its owner "Gee, kids these days... Speaking of kids!" Leviathan brought two finger to her mouth and whislted, at her call a cyber-elf floated up to her "Disable the transponder jamming, you know the codes, right?" The little being bobbed up and down in its version of a nod and flew off "Shouldn't take much time, think you can keep the pose long enough?" Zero was back to his silent glaring self and kept his weapon at her neck until disappearing in digital code, so much for pleasantries...

"Well, I don't know what to think of it but it was different... HQ, respond. Leviathan in. Fission mailed. Gah, prepare a repair pod, I think I dislodged something important."

AN: Too much pun? Or not enough? You decide.


	2. Double Dragon (and a ninja mook)

_Tip-tap-tip-tap-tip tap_

The rhythmic drumming of two fingers was all that could be heard in the cold steel room. The constant perturbation was extremely aggravating to one of the four reploids siting down at the gray table... in that it failed to get a rise out of the other three, their feature were all set and unmoving, apparently locked in deep thought. How dull could the situation get?

_Tip-tap-tip-tap-tip tap_

Thankfully the bored reploid noticed a change, one of his green-clad brother's eyes was subtly twitching in rhythm. Taking it in stride he went back to tapping his fingers against the flat surface with a new vigor.

_Tip-tap-tip-tap-tip tap_

Even adding some variation didn't alter the synchronization a bit. Repressing a grin at the idea he just had the reploid searched his database for a song that would suit his need for amusement. Hopefully something with a fast beat...

_Tip-tap-tip-tap-tip tap_

Sadly the door burst open before he could decide "Sorry, the repair team wouldn't let me go until they could reset my leg three time in a row, had to fight to get out of their hands..." The newcomer explanation was interrupted as she took notice of the sound "Quit it Fafnir, you're getting annoying."

"Not my fault Levi. Had to find a way to pass time..." Fafnir replied, satisfied he finally got under someone skin.

"Can we please move along." Fafnir's red eyes turned toward the one who killed his sister's reply in the egg, the ever so boring Harpuia "Do I need to remind you that the enemy can now stand up to us Guardians?" The green wonder's gaze flickered to Master X, Fafnir held up a groan at how obvious the guy could get.

Master X for his part quickly put an end to the nascent argument. "I believe you managed to gather some information about our current opposition, Leviathan?"

The girl was startled out of her glaring at her two brothers by the inquiry "Yes. First I apologize for my negligence, if not for my oversight this whole fiasco would already be over. Now in regard to the subject capacities... The guy is strong, freakishly strong, good enough to take on any one of us guardians if we're not prepared... I'll start with the good news: I'd say his armor can be compared to that of Phantom and me so it's nothing special, now there's the fact that he tends to ignore things like getting limbs getting blow off but what matter is that he can get hurt, just don't expect him to slow down until you get him beaten... Everything else is a nightmare, it's like if someone mounted Fafnir's arms on Phantom, heavy firepower and an even greater mobility. I think the better way to deal with him is to outmaneuver him, keep your distance and try to back him into a corner before he does... That or a missile barrage of course."

"Is that all?" Asked Phantom, the ninja clearly not impressed with her analysis "A bunch of commonplace won't help us much. True, it's better to know now rather than then but..."

"I find your lack of faith unsettling Phantom." Said reploid inclined his head signaling her to continue "While not as relevant battle-wise I made some discoveries. As I know I did beat Zero, dismembered him even! That got me a glimpse of his inner working, and he's no blocky android of old. High-density nano-carbon polymers attached to a metalic skeleton, a titanium alloy most likely but that's a given, emulating muscular tissue the whole think covered by a supple carbon exoskeleton, technologies whose military application dates..."

"...back to over 60 years ago..." completed Master X "...hence this 'Zero' cannot be who he claims to be."

"Exactly. Of course considering that Master X was the first reploid to subject himself to such a redesign 5 year before it became standard issue over military personnel we can assume that this Zero is some kind of super prototype based on these researches, not that it matters much of course. Opportune use of this information may facilitate this fight, but that is better left to our Chief of Intelligence or our esteemed leader." Concluded Leviathan.

"We've got nothing to lose from revealing it... It's all a question of timing then." Said Phantom.

"That's still doesn't tell us how to remove Zero's threat..." Drawled Harpuia. "If he can take on us one by one then a team effort should do it. All four of us at once?"

"Too dangerous. He's FAST, remember the last time we tried to pile up on Phantom?" Countered the blue guardian. "We got humiliated, I don't want to see what happens when the one guy is actually out to do you in...

"She's right. It's a ninjutsu thing."

"Shall I intervene?" Asked their leader.

"No need, an adequate plan is more than enough to deal with this situation. We cannot simply abandon our duty and burden you with our faillures." Assured Harpuia.

"Just storm their base, should have done it from the start. Some Pantheons ought to distract them, arrest the girl and then blow the whole thing up..." Began Fafnir.

"Negative." Said Master X "This operation would get out of control the instant the drone enter the place. We must differentiate ourselves from mavericks by our regard for Justice and working toward avoiding unnecessary bloodshed."

"So what then? No plan survive first contact with the enemy and we can't draw him out for either a gang up or a one on one." Observed the red reploid.

"We lay a trap of course. I only got because of his previous injuries. We'll only have to launch multiple operations to make him run around to each of us in turn. The primary objective of each will still be to retire him but we'll also soften him for the next. We just have to determine the order and locations." Exposed the ice general.

"Phantom first then. There isn't much that work against speed except for speed. Plus making the first move count is his specialty."

"A sound plan Harpuia. I think an ambush at the facility that was captured a while ago would be perfect, their group needs the energen badly..."

"Yes, the key is to constitute a threat they can't ignore..."

"Full scale assault!"

"Hacking!"

"Good enough, doesn't let me anything to do though..."

"If I may, it came to our attention that a group of these maverick scheduled an encounter with a known arm dealer. Ambushing them should be enough of an incentive."

"Good enough. I'll have to get them to the ruined highway, the terrain there suits me better."

"Great so Phantom ambushing at the facility, I hack from our secret desert base, Harpuia get the old highway and Fafnir lead the front from..."

"The desert, open space is our friend against this guy, right?"

"Order?"

"Phantom is first of course, and Leviathan has the most experience against him so she goes last, as for the two of us I'd say the factory-desert-highway-desert pattern is sound, that'll keep him on his toes."

"That can work... anyone has anything to add?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Shall Zero manage to top all four of us, I think sending one of my own to infiltrate the maverick base and manually activate their trans server. From then on sending in an appropriate task force should do the trick in securing the human, gaining us leverage to obtain a peaceful surrender."

"A rather foolproof plan. You may proceed with it, I will of course be ready to step in shall the situation require it. If that is all this meeting is adjourned." Concluded Master X. With that the guardians bowed and left the meeting room , except for one. "Yes Leviathan?"

Fafnir, having decided to hang back couldn't help to eavesdrop "Nothing, nothing. Just should have realized the docs had a good for wanting me to stay. My leg nearly gave out..." Fafnir rolled his eyes, the girl's ability to put herself in awkward situations was near legendary among the guardians "Um... Gee, it sure is boring out here..."

"Perhaps the preparation of the upcoming operation will prove itself a sufficient distraction..."

"Yes, of course! I'll be going then..." The girl limped away, visibly flustered, bumping into Fafnir along the way "It's already hard enough passing by you when you're not trying to get in the way, you know that?"

"I thought that the ability to get anywhere was the only perk to being a midget. So, you got a little boo-boo and can't help but make a fool of yourself? Maybe you want me to give you a ride?"

"You manners are improving. Maybe there's is something we can do about you..." Teased Leviathan as she hoped onto his back "Come on big guy. You know the way."

"I know that mythology isn't accurate by nature but I doubt Fafnir was meant to be a pack mule." Commented a dark figure as they rounded a corner.

"What can I say Phantom? The girl like to get off on bullying a dragon. Plus, who better than me to carry a wha- Not the face! Not the face!"

"That's what happens to pigs like you. So what do you want with us Phantom?" leviathan casually asked as she kept on pinching and pulling at her ride's face.

"I just came to thank you. He tried not to show it but Master X was pretty distressed over this whole Zero affair. Your conclusions took a heavy weigh off his shoulder."

"Ah, it's nothing really. Glad I could help. By the way, where's Harpy? Sulking off in a corner surely."

"I cannot deny that last sentence, don't call me Shirley though..."

"Hey, how about you talk some sense into him and get him to hang out. It's been years since we did anything all four of us together." Shouted Fafnir.

"Neo-Avalon siege... Four years already." Mused Phantom "By the way, congratulation for your progresses on that front Fafnir."

"Only doing my part bro. I know it sounds awesome to wimps like you two, but hey! There's only enough place for one savior!" Fafnir shot his best cocky grin at his slibings. He was milking it for all it was worth but his pride was genuine and , in his humble opinion, justified. Securing the area around the first Neo-Arcadian colony has been deemed of the highest priority by Master X himself!

"Hmph! Say Phantom, do you know how the combat nerd manage to go that fast?"

"I'll refer to your expertise O fountain of knowledge."

"He just strut around with his big ego and the mavericks' hiding holes fall on top of their heads..."

"Hey you!"

"Shut up and keep moving, you dumb brute!"

"Spoiled diva!"

"I expected you to at least try to prevent them of making fools of themselves, not to spur them on Phantom..." Drawled the green clad figure of their last brother. Harpuia was waiting for them leaning against the wall of the hall leading to the Guardians' respective private quarters.

"See, he was sulking in a corner!"

* * *

Getting to catch up with the boys had really been great. Except for the busybody Harpuia, as if she didn't have enough of his overly stiff attitude already... Him being the only contact she had during weeks on end as they coordinated their efforts into opposing the effects of the post-apocalyptic global warming didn't help her develop a resistance to his attitude, quite the contrary actually. That she had to keep immobile and plugged to heavy machinery probably played a part too...

"Then again, looks like it may end sooner that I'd have wanted..." Leviathan tried not to focus too much on the fact she just expressed regret at the prospect of not acting as a giant battery/super-processor to Antarctica's cooling system for a few more years.

"Watcha doin'?

"Coding hacking protocols. Why are you sneaking on me for Faf?"

"These looks like prisoner files."

"I'm building a buffer, in case they manage to turn back the tables on me. The trick is finding useless crap that doesn't look like it so they lose their time. Outdated prison data seemed like the perfect bait."

"I don't know who's the more devious. You or Phantom?"

"Harpy." Fafnir boisterous laugh was good to hear, it didn't change a bit since they were newbuilts. Out of the four of them he was the one that had it the easiest in her opinion. "So, why are you here?"

"I wanted to see how you felt now that your perfect record is broken."

"Ts... Merely a setback. I'll be the one to beat Zero. Just wait and see."

"Not if I beat you to him..."

Leviathan glared at the red dragon "He's mine. Go find your own."

Fafnir draped one of his big arms around her shoulders and shook her as he laughed "You're getting hotblooded on me? Little Levi is finally growing up!"

"For once it's not trash I have to pick up so I won't let you steal my prey."

"Yup, you got it bad." At her quizzical gaze he elaborated "That thrill. The moment your systems slow down and the world is a million time more intense." His grin became feral looking "When it's only you and the other guy, skill against skill, metal clashing against metal. One gentleman warrior to another, in respectful combat! Then you-"

"-break his spine. We watched that movie together, dumbass."

"Of course!" Roared Fafnir. Leviathan sighed, she had brought it upon herself this time. "But seriously, it's something else, fighting a worthy oponent. Always gets my fire pumping! A great rivalry is a man's heart!"

"I'm a woman, you know?"

"More like a little g-" The fire general clamped his mouth shut at the near fatal mistake. He could only hope that Levi had a temporary lapse in attention.

"Don't push your luck..." Going by the gleam of murder in her eye and the lack of either the usual annoyance or amusement in her voice he decided that running away as fast as he could and lock the door to his room was the best course of action.

"How can I be of use Master X?"

Master X expression was grim ad his posture tenser than he ever saw before. This worried him greatly. As if his voice snapped the robed figure out of his meditative state Master X relaxed slightly and gave a slight smile. "Are you channeling Harpuia again Phantom? With how often I tell you to relax I can't decide whether you're acting overly obedient or openly defying me..."

"Of course, I am a ninja after all."

"And again I found myself unable to read you. How low the mighty has fallen..." Maxter X lifted his eyes to the roof of his throne room, apparently loosing himself to his thoughts again "I want you to keep an eye on Leviathan. Something struck me as wrong at our meeting today. I fear she isn't handling this situation as well as she should... Out of the four of you she always was the most sheltered. We mustn't let this war get the better of her."

"I see. That will be done." Deep within himself Phantom steeled his resolve for what he may have to do.

AN: I'd like to thank nina for her (your not a cross-dresser *err cross-namer?* are you?) review. I'll try to pace my fight scenes better in the future. They're the ones I'm the most unusued too but I'm working on them. As for the puns there's also two ice related ones when Leviathan hang up on Ciel, and I'll admmit the Zero's one was pretty lame but it was there!

And of course there will be other chapters! The quote is a mid fic spoiler, I'd say, and is only in the summary to serve as a shock value. A pretty risky one as people love Zero's badass boast and I just trampled it. It's just that it doesn't take much to guess the main divergence from the games storyline that will occur by chapter four and I wanted to reassure readers that I intend to use it to make the story more character driven.

Please review. For each review allows me to satisfy you better! I know this story will have a rather limited public (what was I thinking when I put Leviathan and not Harpuia as a main character? And then the former unrelentely bashed the latter al thourough this chapter... I must be mad!) so each and every one of your reviews will be cherished.


	3. Zero Ga Taosenai

_**Here it comes! The dreaded Zero focus! My body isn't ready...**_

Defeat was... unnerving. Technically speaking he didn't loose, he had set himself an objective: buy the resistance members time to make their escape and then proceed with his own extraction from the site; and he did complete that objective, the proof being the prisoner's and his presence here at the Resistance base. And there was that nagging feeling, some echoes from his lost memory, a whisper that wanted him to know that he _did_ retreat without completing his objectives, that failure in missions was not unknown to him. And yet...

"You really are a perfect patient." Cerveau noted. "You wouldn't believe what I must do to keep the others from fidgeting too much..."

"I can imagine." Something to do with the steel restraints he could see on the operation table. Nothing that concerned him. He just had to keep his severed arm in place in a perspex casing as Cerveau restored the nervous connections and muscular liaisons to his hand.

"And that's the last one." Announced the engineer before filling the casing with a transparent liquid. The use of a (precious) nanite solution was necessary to fully repair his arm as the member was smashed through rather than sliced, bringing the need to replace the missing parts of both his intra and extra-skeleton. "Please try to come with a clean cut next time-"

"There won't be a next time. Thanks for the repair."

"Remember, this thing comes off in two days. No less."

"Fine." And now it was the casing over his forearm that was irking him.

* * *

The Resistance base was improvised, that he already knew, yet he never realized how much until he was unable to sortie. A shooting range was a necessary addition.

"And then we have a rainbow..."

"Oh oh oh! Wondrous Alouette. You're a magnificent artist!"

With him out of commission there was a gap to fill in the Resistance's striking force. So it was decided to relocate some of the base personnel. Which left the base empty except for the core of the guard, Ciel, him and of course Alouette and André. Apparently the aged reploid found it opportune to introduce the child to the 'ageless tradition of cast scribbling'. And they chose to do it in the middle of the mess hall. The other reploids present were enjoying the show too much to his taste...

"And now there's this boat that's riding over the rainbow..."

"Riding on the rainbow?"

"It's a winged boat! It can't fly otherwise Zero."

"Of course. Silly me."

"Ah... That reminds me of the time I was a school teacher... Did you know I used to teach at a school? It was..."

Zero admitted that his memory was lacking, but _he_ at least remembered André already told him this specific story. Unless the old coot was doing it on purpose... Nonetheless he still felt intrigued by the concept of reploid children going to school. Reploid didn't age... did that mean...

An alarm blazed. His name was called through the comm system. Zero stood up, André already took Alouette away, and dashed out. He ran down the corridor before jumping down the elevator shaft. Slowing himself down with his good arm he flipped onto the floor below and made his way to the control room. Ciel and Cerveau were there. "What's happening?"

"We lost contact with the energen refining center!"

Zero handed Cerveau his arm. It was only thirty-seven hours in but it'll have to do... "When?"

"Our last update was ten minutes ago..."

"Nothing else?" Ciel shook her head "Then we have to assume they knew of our update schedule and managed to subdue all our teams as soon as they last checked in..."

"That mean..."

"Yes. Don't get your hopes too high."

* * *

The whole facility was eerily silent. And empty. Whoever stormed the place was good. Too good not to know who would be sent in to investigate the anomaly. Now to know when they'll strike...

"_Zer-"_ In the middle of enemy communication seemed to be good enough for his assailant. But Zero was prepared. He rolled away from the path of the descending blade and shot three pellets at the offender.

"Humph! You have been doing well... My name is Phantom, one of the four Guardians of Master X."

"Great. I guess the other two are just as chatty... What happened to the Resistance?"

"Your concern over your comrades is commendable. Some were retired on the spot, the rest awaits trial. You will soon know the fate of an irregular..."

Their blades clashed with a spark and Zero pushed Phantom back easily. Too easily. Phantom's center of gravity was too low to allow him to put enough weight into his strikes. Once again the Guardian was too good to make such a mistake. His was only a test. His opponent needed to evaluate Zero's reaction speed...

Phantom charged close to the ground again. So he was going for the legs... Aiming to cripple Zero's mobility early on wasn't a bad idea on itself,yet the execution was lacking. The strike was parried. The follow up was quicker than the initial strike however. Planting one of his hand to the ground the Guardian twisted in mid-air locking his legs around one of Zero's own and applying pressure.

That nearly caught the crimson reploid off guard. Morphing the Z-saber into the directional rod he smashed the butt of the weapon onto the Guardian's helmet, slamming his upper body to the ground and preventing him to build up the strength to tip Zero over.

Phantom managed to roll out of the way of the spear's blade as it was brought down on his head and launched flash bombs. In the instant it took Zero to adjust four identical copies of the ninja were standing unmoving around him. Waiting vainly two seconds for Phantom to give himself away Zero ran his saber through one of the four. The blow broke the cloaking system disguising the pantheon, which promptly exploded. Blown away by the explosion Zero couldn't avoid a glancing blow from the ninjato on his right flank.

Landing on his feet Zero brought his buster up. Phantom could certainly go fast when he put his mind into it as he was now surrounded by three dozen copies. Leaping into the air Zero opened fire on the fragile copies blowing them up as fast as he could. Quite no fast enough... for each each explosion that receded revealed two new cloaked pantheons in place of the lone units he destroyed. He would be neck deep in explosive copies soon if he didn't take drastic measures. Reverting his saber to shield boomerang mode he kicked of a wall and launched the glowing green disk at the masses below.

The resulting destruction engulfed the floor in flames. Hearing a grunt of satisfaction above him he looked up in time to see Phantom standing head down on the roof and the incoming shuriken. With no way to avoid the projectile Zero brought his arms up to protect his head and felt the weapon bite into his outer left thigh. Failing into the still burning ground he rolled forward onto safer land. His weapon found its way back to his hand just in time for him to repel the Guardian's weapon.

Taking advantage of the distraction Phantom charged from behind, stabbing a knife deep into Zero's left shoulder. He was rewarded by a shield bash to the side. The plasma singed the Guardian's armor and exoskeleton making him loose mobility in his upper torso. Just what Zero needed to place his patented three hit combo. The first slash cut a deep gash in his abdomen but his chest armor absorbed most of the last two hits before beginning to crumble.

Another flash bomb... the trick was starting to get repetitive. This time Zero was ready for it, buster at the ready, his eyes already adjusting for the sudden influx of light. That was nearly his undoing. This time there was no rigged Pantheon, instead Phantom's shuriken missed his face by a hair width. The ninja jumped high into the air as the weapon drew its arc back to its owner. Landing on the weapon and running in synch with its rotation the Guardian rained a hail of knives on Zero.

The crimson hunter batted the first volley away and the most of the second bounced off of him harmlessly, safe for the one that struck his already damaged flank. Crouching low so that his shield covered his whole left side he trailed his buster on the soaring figure. The black Guardian's control on his weapon was flawless and he maneuvered around the pellets as if it were nothing.

It was a stalemate, neither could damage the other as it were. It was time to raise the stakes. Zero dashed toward the Guardian, who concentrated fire on the approaching figure. With the damages he sustained Zero's speed and jumping capacity were impaired, he'd have to compose. Morphing his weapon into the directional rod he dug the tip of it into the ground and kicked off hard. Using the weapon as a perch he rose higher than he could have on his own, even at full strength. This was not quite high enough as Phantom ascended out of the way as soon as the spear stuck ground. Straightening his body over the weapon Zero jumped off it with arm strength alone. Phantom was too close to react in time and was met by a powerful kick that launched him off his massive shuriken and into the ground. Hard.

The Guardian rose up with difficulty as Zero advanced toward him saber drawn. "Impressive. I wonder... Will you be able to get out before the bombs I planted detonate and destroy this facility?" Zero stopped. "The clock is ticking..." Phantom used the distraction to teleport away.

"_Zero! Get back to the base. We can't risk losing you!"_

"Don't worry. I'm on it." The facility was too important not to try and save it. Being told an army was assembling into the western desert while checking the second to last room almost made him reconsider.

* * *

The enemy was numerous but weak. Strength was relative however and any group of pantheon could mow down an equivalent force of the Resistance in open combat... So Zero had no choice but to take on the whole army by himself and make sure no significant force made it to the Resistance choke-holds. He had already depleted a third of his emergency energy reserves between his duel with Phantom and the current battle. That wouldn't be exceptionally worrisome if not for the fact the two were obviously concerted. "Cerveau?"

"_Yes?"_

"They're targeting me. Odds are they have more coming for us after this. I'm burning through my reserves too fast for my liking."

"_I see. You want me to find a way to accelerate your recovery. I'll work on it right away."_

"Thanks."

The enemy commander seemed satisfied making him run from on end of the front to another. Their objective was really to tire him out...

It took hours but Neo-Arcadia's army was driven back. All that was left was the aerial transport looming over him. Zero's auto-repair systems kicked in, chances were his next opponent would make small talk before attacking, better putting that time to use. His sub tanks were filled at 53% of their total capacity, the rhythm they forced him into was bearing fruit.

A figure jumped off the side of the transport onto the dunes bellow. They were most likely the impatient sort, things were bound to go fast at least... "Not bad at all kid!" The large reploid shouted. "The brat was right after all. Too bad for you and her but you're mine now!"

"I take it you're a Guardian too."

"Fafnir, remember it! That's the last thing you'll ever learn."

"..."

Fafnir let out a low growl "Playing tough, uh? I'll teach you to fear me!" Some kind of pincer appeared over his arm "That's Sodom! It'll hand you your ass!"

Zero raised an eyebrow, not that the Guardian could see it behind his helmet... Fafnir was cocky to a fault, this should facilitate things. Drawing his buster he sent a fully charged shot at the dragon themed reploid. Fafnir smirked as he shot a giant fireball from his weapon, easily overpowering Zero's projectile. Zero dodged, it wasn't difficult at this distance. Ranged combat wasn't an option anymore, and that meant getting inside that heavy _thing_ melee range was now necessary.

The sand made it impossible to reach full speed, they planned it well. Fafnir probably wasn't able to reach his level of mobility so he relied on his heavy full-body armor and even heavier weaponry while slowing Zero down to a more manageable speed. The sword wielding reploid brought his weapon down forcing the Guardian to parry with Sodom, avoiding a kick Zero disengaged and spun his saber horizontally toward the other's gut.

The Z-saber met a second pincer with a clang. "Eh! My name ain't Fafnir for nothing. Meet Gomorrah!" Zero had to dodge the Guardian's weapons as he boxed the Resistance's warrior. While he still managed to hit his opponent and avoid the blows coming at him Fafnir's armor reduced the damages to almost nothing. The Guardian sent a downward punch at Zero's head, it was dodged but that did not seem to bother him as Gomorrah unleashed a powerful blast the moment it reached the sand.

The shock-wave kicked a sand cloud up in the air around Zero. He felt the Guardian jump back and readied himself, half a second later he saw a disturbance in the flow of the sand particle. He immediately dashed to his right shield raised high letting the fireball fly by him, and running into the second one... His lightning aligned shield saved him, it absorbed most of the impact and defused the explosion that followed. It was a clever tactic that assured a 50% chance to hit, firing Sodom and Gomorrah in quick succession one shot aimed at the target and the other slightly off course... Forcing the opponent to trade skill for luck.

Zero shook off the hit and charged. His arms were strained near their limits so it was time to end it. He crossed the distance faster than should have been possible and landed a devastating slash on Fafnir and followed suit. The fire general defended with all he had but his best was not sufficient. Deep gashes opened on his armor, exposing the softer exoskeleton below. Both were equally surprised when Gomorrah closed around the blade. Before Zero could react Sodom ensnared his waist and Fafnir jumped high with a feral howl.

Zero was slammed hard into a dune. And then came the pain. Sodom let out a powerful blast at point blank. Fighting against shutdown Zero heard the hum of the energy building up in the weapon. Using all he had left Zero brought his arms up. In an burst of strength and desperation he pierced through one of the Guardian's armor gaps with his saber as he simultaneously slammed his buster against his fanged helmet and fired. Repeatedly.

Fafnir leaped backward at the unrelenting assault. Blood-like coolant oozed from his wounds and his helmet was missing its left fang letting locks of light brown hair peek through. The Guardian wobbled on his feet for a time before failing on his back. Zero could hear his heavy breathing, Fafnir obviously needed to cool down a bit. After some time he heard a sound he didn't identify, he let it slide, more preoccupied by his repair system kicking into overdrive further emptying his sub tanks. The sound came back. And again. Each time in shortest intervals. Fafnir was laughing. Quite loudly too...

"You're something else kid!"

"You're not too bad yourself."

"Can't get up though … you?"

Zero checked his sub tanks. 0%. And he still had his gut wide open... Plus his abdominal muscles fused together... "Same here."

"Damn! Whaddya say we call it quits. Ya still got to meet the boy wonder!"

"Sure. Whatever you say."

"Ya better keep alive so I can kick your butt some other time! See ya." Fafnir activated his portable Trans Server, Zero followed suit.

At the back of his mind Zero granted Fafnir the right to be as cocky as he wished...

* * *

As expected a third 'emergency' revealed itself as soon as he got back to the base. One of the Resistance's founding members, Corbeau, had been found out during an undercover mission and had a Guardian, no surprise there, on his tail. Ciel nearly went into mental breakdown at the prospect of leaving the reploid to die or send the grievously injured Zero to his rescue. Zero had to intervene and assure her that Corbeau would be safe as long as he was considered a bait.

That left him with a narrow window for repairs. So there he was, sitting chest deep in a pool of nanite solution with a tube extending from his chest force-feeding energy crystals directly into his core where it was immediately processed. The combination of both his and the solution's nanites and the carbon-rich environment allowed for a quick repair of his abdominal region.

His armor was back to a passable state when the news dropped: Neo-Arcadia was attempting to hack into their systems. Their patience was thinning, Corbeau would be soon disposed of if Zero didn't show himself at his rescue. Taking note of his reserves level, just over a third, Zero went on his way.

* * *

The flying pantheons proved themselves to be a nuisance but not much of a danger. The green reploid that stood before the cowering Resistance member wasn't to take as lightly. "Go back to the base. I'm taking care of him." Corbeau didn't need to be told twice...

"Zero... I am Harpuia, of Master X's four Guardians. For your crimes against Neo-Arcadia I shall retire you!"

At least this one had the decency to keep it short. Zero evaded a succession of three beam arcs shot by Harpuia's twin pink swords before taking in on the offense. The green reploid was good with a sword, not quite near Zero's level but the dual-wielding more than made up for the difference in skill. Realizing that he wouldn't top Zero that way Harpuia took to the skies. The former hunter had to dodge wide beam arc descending on him at high speed while firing ice shards in the Guardian's direction. Neither had much success as both were fast enough to keep out of the way of the attacks.

Zero knew a sword fight would turn in his favor and the current charade could last eons. And he knew his opponent knew of that too. The problem was that he had a limit to what he could do in the platform he was standing on while the flying unit had no such restriction. As if to demonstrate this point Harpuia disappeared under the old highway. Zero scrutinized the horizon for signs of the other's return. What he got was the sound of an explosion down bellow and the road began to quake.

The structure support was broken causing it to fall to the waters under it. Zero quickly jumped to the nearest segment of the highway. From the corner of his eyes he saw a green blur aiming for the pillar under it. It would be a contest of speed then...

The crimson reploid ran as fast as he could down the ancient road. He heard a crack and looked behind him, twenty meters away the road was beginning to crumble under it's own weight. A violent boom indicated Harpuia probably broke the sound barrier and soon after the road began top fall apart in the distance. The Guardian didn't want to give chase and trapped him on an isolated platform. The structure wouldn't be left standing long...

The broken pillars in front of him war apart by three hundred meters, calculating fast Zero determined the location of the only thing keeping him on stable ground and dashed over to it. Reaching the left side of the road directly above the pillar he leaped over the edge. The was no trace of the Guardian... Stabbing his blade into the pillar he shifted his weight an began to spiral around it. There he was! Speeding toward the pillar like a bullet. Zero punched the wall creating a hold into it. He had to time it right...

Harpuia sent a beam from his twin sword and watched as it impacted with the support pillar. He began his ascension to better watch Zero as he fell to his doom when said reploid slammed against him from above. Zero had a strong hold on the Guardian's neck and aimed a slash at his head. Harpuia managed to grab the sword-wielding arm before the blade struck him. The two struggle as they fell. They began their fall one hundred and sixteen meters high and already wasted nearly one full second, Harpuia didn't even bother fighting he activated his Trans Server. His opponent having retreated Zero lost no time to make his exit.

* * *

The ice was gone. It was that much more delay in his mission. Jumping down in the basin he ducked under the surface and took a large mouthful of water letting the cold liquid fill his lungs, the added weigh making him sink to the bottom. He advanced down the rocky path cutting down mechanical fishes and whatnot until he reached a deep chasm. Taking a running start he jumped other it... At least that was the plan. Once he reached the apex of his jump he noticed the water got dramatically colder. Ice crystals began to form around him, as an impromptu cocoon. Switching the Z-saber specifics to generate fire he activated the weapon heating the water in his immediate proximity, thawing the ice construct and landing safely on the other side.

"I knew you were special!" Despite the slight distortion the voice was unmistakable, he didn't fight much female after all. "It's the same every time... They swim in my ocean, thinking they're so strong. They never stand a chance," The water got significantly darker, "all I ever have to do is freeze them in place and pick them up... You're the first to ever make it past that." Her position was hard to pinpoint, she was moving and her voice was getting lower and lower. "I have to thank you. I it wasn't for you I'd still think _I_'m so strong... So all I have to say is..." He felt a slight shift in the water just... "please don't hold back on me~." ...behind him. His left hand clenched tighly.

She was hovering over his shoulder as if she was whispering in his ear. He spun around and she quickly built some distance between them. She glided slowly around him in a circle as she continued. "I have to warn you, I'm much stronger underwater. So neither of us has a handicap this time."

"Stalling much?"

"It didn't bother you when you were the one doing it."

"If you want a fight I'll be back once I'm finished here."

"You know I can't let you do that..." She said as she raised a hand up. At her silent command the surface froze up in a thick layer of ice. "It's bad manners to keep a lady waiting." She narrowly avoided the subsequent strike and grinned before countering.

Fighting Leviathan was similar to fighting Harpuia in that both took full advantage of their environment. The main difference was that while the latter was content keeping far out of the way the former preferred to play her own version of cat and mouse. She alternated randomly between launching icicles at him, raining ice shard that tried to encompass him the moment they touched him and close combat. While they proved roughly equivalent in ranged battle Zero was superior in close quarters. However as she didn't stick around one place long it was hard to press on that advantage. She sidestepped another fiery slash and its accompanying stream of bubbles when the idea struck him. He only had to wait for the perfect opening.

The moment came when she rose up high above him, higher he could reach, and began to generate ice shards. Zero dashed right under her and began to spin his saber over his head. The intense heat generated bubbles and vapor that went up quickly reaching the Guardian. The mix held much less buoyancy than water and Leviathan lost the ability to keep afloat falling into the boiling whirlpool. She brought her spear down in her descent to avoid being skewered on the spinning blade, the impact between the two weapon projected her far away from Zero. Getting back upright she searched for him only to find him missing and that her ice barrier had been breached by his last attack.

* * *

Zero was only back to the base for all of ten minutes when the alarm rang. Whoever caused this was in for a world of pain...

AN: There it is! Fafnir rocked! If you're interested you'll find some technical explanations bellow (Nerds?! On ? What heresy is this?)

nina: Shhh! Cial doesn't know Levi is in on her. And this chapter's battles are better paced for your personal satisfaction.

_*Jingle*: Here come the science! With Cerveau and Cieeel~_

Cerveau: Man, that was an exciting chapter, wasn't it?

Ciel: It sure was! _*Whisper* And there was a lot of naked Zero action!_

Cerveau: What was that?

Ciel: Nothing! I just didn't know Zero could swim...

Cerveau: Don't you build reploids? Anyway, while it's true that back in the 20xx and 21xx most robots and reploids sank like rocks such is not the case for 22xx's reploids! As you know reploids are now built in such a way as to better blend in with humans. To that end resploids are built around a hollow titanium skeleton to which are attached carbon nanotubes replicating muscular tissue and covered by a supple nanocarbon exoskeleton.

Ciel: You mean to say that reploids are carbon-based life forms just like humans?

Cerveau: That's a good way to put it. The muscles flex when subjected to an electrical current not unlike human muscles. And there's more, when submitted to the proper signal the exoskeletons rearrange their atomic setup to attain toughness akin to that of a diamond!

Ciel:That way the are as well protected that previous generation machines but with a greater mobility.

Cerveau: Indeed! And there's no joint to stick things in anymore. And all that with the added bonus that reploids are now 30% lighter! For instance Zero only weight 75kg for 1.69m.

Ciel: Were he human he would be considered overweight with those specs and yet here he is! *Dreamy* Such a yummy hunk...

Cerveau: You said something?

Ciel: Yes! Don't you think Alouette was so cute back then?

Cerveau: I agree.

Ciel: By the way, did Zero really need a cast? A recovered from far worst in much less time during his battles against the Guardians. *Whisper* And was that hussy flirting with him? Just wait until I get my hands on her!

Cerveau: Of course! And the plaster was necessary. Otherwise Zero's left arm would have been reconstructed shorter than his right. That and the auto-repair system energy cost is exponentially proportionate to the ammount and speed of the repairs.

Ciel: I see...

Cerveau: *Snort* She didn't catch on.

Ciel: What?

Cerveau: Nothing.


	4. Flashback

The Guardian's grand plan had resulted in utter failure. Her own? Not so much. If she were to be honest with herself she did divert ressources but the fact she likely avoided a disaster had to count for something... Master X wasn't Master X. Leviathan still had some issues over allowing herself to doubt the one she owed everything to. She tried to silence those traitorous thoughts by telling herself she must have knew on some subconscious level all along...

Her attack on the Resistance's database confirmed they were indeed researching a new enrgy source based on elf technology. Her covert survey of Neo-Arcadia servers revealed that Dr Ciel's team from six years ago has been assigned to a undisclosed location for security reasons. Awfully vague... Awfully suspicious. She was no Phantom but neither was the one who did this. All this and her personnal certitude that the one sitting atop Neo-Arcadia tower wasn't X led her to that choice. The fake had to go.

Which sent her back to their spectacular failure. Phantom and Fafnir did their part, Harpuia and her not so much. Better to left Hanumachine alone... There was barely thirty-two seconds before the monkey confirmed contact before his brain unit's recovery signal went off. But, much more importantly, a mere two hours after Hanumachine fell, the impossible happened: Zero had been sighted in the middle of the city's inner sanctum. And he was tearing his way through like a hot knife through butter. Which was perdect for her.

She held no delusion she could beat the fake on her own. He wasn't her father but he still exulted an aura of power that none could match... Except maybe for Zero. She doubted she could be more than a bystander in their duel but she couldn't allow herself to sit this one out. It was her duty as one of X's Guardians, at least one of them had to take part... She had discarded the idea of getting her brothers to join, they wouldn't have believed her and even if they had their doubts they wouldn't act on them on such a short notice... and Neo—Arcdian would need its Guardians if the fake was to stay in charge.

She'd have to get to her post soon. The Guardians duty was to defend the locks of Master X' chamber's entrance. She absently wondered if the locks being placed out of the chambers was for that very purpose, to let an enemy of the city chalenge its ruler...

She'd already took care of her personal belongings, what she intended to keep had been hidden away near a remote Trans Server. A rock vaguely ressembling Fafnir's head, she still couldn't fathom how he thought it was gift material, the collection of trashy romance novels Phantom got her, he was the one to hook her to the genre, the too many gift from their father, she had to admit he had her spoiled...

The last item she decided to keep on her. It was a gift from Harpuia, the first time they met after they began to work on restoring the climate. He said he knew she could barely tolerate his stuck up ways and that being her only contact for days was bound to drive her mad, he apologized a tad too little to her taste and handed it to her. It was a bracelet, and a cheap one at that, a ruber band covered by cloth with four charms dangling from it: a roaring red dragonhead, a purple shuriken, a green wing and a blue sea shell. It was hand-made so she forgave the crudeness of it. He said he made it so that she never forget the four of them would always be together. He deserved that hug.

She took her helmet off letting her long black hair fall down. Gathering her mane at the top of her head and tied the memento around it getting her hair in a high ponytail. Not bothering to look if it suited her she scrunched it all up an put her helmet back on. As she went toward destny she allowed herself to think of happier times.

* * *

"_Gee, It sure is boring out here!"_

"_Mah girl! This peace is what all true warriors strive for..."_

"_Ugh! Where do you find all these corny lines?"_

_Their father had taken a seat next to Leviathan without her notice. His relaxed expression did wonders in highlighting his youthful features, so different from is usual mask as Neo-Arcadia's ruler. "I found much more than I bargained for while searching for ansxers on the Web. Not all of the ancient world has been lost... sadly."_

"_Sounds interesting. Maybe I'll look into it sometimes..."_

_Their secret listener allowed himself to smile at their father's horror stricken expression. He had it coming, really. They all inherited some sort of 'dominant trait' from their father, for Leviathan it was natural curiosity and while it allowed them to connect in a way X couldn't with the rest of them, some sort of yearning for his old days as a lab assistant no doubt, it often resulted in their sister acquiring a new (hopefully temporary) obsession. He felt a tinge of jealousy at the fact._

_Fafnir loved a good battle, and X always guilty taking enjoyment in a fight, the weigh of his past was far too great. Harpuia and him got a mix of his sense of duty and his devotion, the exact proportions of that mix in each of them was a subject of endless debate, and while they were both more atuned to their father's current being there always was some sort of sadness and apprehension in X's eyes when he looked at them. Phantom understood that look, he knew he had the same when he set his eyes on his father. The three of them were the kind to bear the weigh of the world on their shoulders regardless of the risk of breaking under it._

_Once again he thought back to the one request X made of him._

* * *

_The thought that the world had finally crushed X came back some years after. Maverick attacks were at an all time low and the constrution of Neo-Avalon had finally begun. Everything was going as perfectly as could be. And X disappeared. It was as if seeing his work was finally over the tired hero felt he had earned the right to rest. The shock was great and the city almost fell into panic. X was proven right when order was restored after two days, the city could stand on its own now that the menace wasn't imminent anymore._

_Trouble begun when their supply lines were attacked. The under and above-ground power lines were systematically cut, energen mines and military outposts were assaulted... The city proper was never attacked but it didn't need to..._

_Neo-Arcadian counted over twenty-four million citizens, two third of them reploids. The city proper produced 90% of its total energy needs. The viarious elements of the power grid that extended from it brought the energy production to a confortable 115% of the total needs of the grid, of course the enemy hit their power plants the hardest. And to the sudden drop in input was added a drastic increase in their needs. Phanteon had to be built in mass to compensate for their loss and to face the rising threat. Ans then came the repairs. In a mere three weeks the situation went from calm to bad and two more months made it dramatic._

_Phantom and Harpuia, with the help of the eight Judges and the city's council did all they could to keep control but the city was soon at the verge moof rioting. It was too much, too soon. It made no doubt the all-out assault on Neo-Arcadia's interests so soon after X's left was concerted. Worse, it appeared the drop in maverick activity was nothing more than a bait designed to lure their leader away. The implications were frightening..._

_They were nearing rock bottom when X reappeared. His return was enough to calm down the masses and bring back a semblance of order. For a time..._

_Support for the energy restriction program soon plummeted once the prospect of a quick resolution lost credibility. The sacrifices the reploid population agreed to were great, they renounced food for the more efficient energen consumption and each was only allowed just enough to go through their daily activities. Humans were of course submitted to similar restrictions but the facts remained, reploids gave up on comfort while humans conserved some of it._

_Protest soon gained the streets. Phanteons proved they were unsuited for crowd control. The crowd got progressively larger and rowdier and when the mindless automatons began to subdue the most virulant individuals it degenerated into a riot. The reploids had little to no remorse venting their anger on the mechaniloids._

_This resulted in mass arrest and the following trials. Master X showed great mercy, the disruptive elements were drafted into administrative service. He explained his reasonning, it was meant to make the reploids understand the severity of the situation first hand and free more seasoned personnel to join the war effort._

_When the question of wether calling Fafnir back to deal with the troubles was raised Master X answered the the Guardian was more needed securing Neo-Avalon. To him the colony at the base of Mt Niger was their way out of the tunnel. The new weather correction facilities and inevitable exodus would ease up the strain on the city. All they had to do was to endure. The Guardians decided to carry their part of the burden and renounced their monthly meetings, throwing themselves into their assigned tasks with their all._

_Once again the reprive was short. But this time humans took part in their own conunter-march. It didn't end well... The security detail didn't expect the crowd of humans that gathered behind the pantheon line holding the reploids back. Words were exchanched and tension was running high. It all went to hell when an empty can was launched at the group of reploids. Leniency wasn't an option anymore..._

_Phantom resumed his silent watch of Master X._

* * *

_His resolove was tested once more when Leviathan tried to coax Master X into their now traditional in-joke, it never failed getting a smile out of him. It didn't work. And then came the request to keep watch over his sister._

_Yet, it was what he found during his surveillance that troubled him most. While Master X publically advocated against Dr Ciel Maverick group as they represented only a negligible threat he also claimed they weren't open to negociation. Leviathan findings pointed in another direction..._

_Phantom rememored the words of his hather._

"_Phantom. There may be a time you'll ask yourself what became of me. If that time ever came... Please retire me."_

That time has come. And to his shame Phantom couldn't bring himself to do the deed. The one task that was entrusted to him and only him. He was to be the tool of his father's deliverance but his resolve was too weak. That was why he had to atone. That's why he barred Zero's way.

He knew he had to let the crimson reploid pass. But he had to make sure he was worthy, that he could prevail at what Phantom himself failed. So he fought, with everything he had...

It was as if it was even easier than the first time. As if fighting him only once told Zero everything he had to know about Phantom. He was that terrible. He had vanguished him so utterly...

"Eh. You truly are a formidable foe... Maybe strong enough to defeat Master X." Zero didn't even bat an eye. "For this reason... I'll take you with me." It was the final test... no, it was his final expiation. Maybe it was the easiest way out but Phantom couldn't bear to live when he had failed in all his duties. As the explosion engulfed him and his cousciousness drifted away he felt strangely at peace. As if a familiar prescence enveloped him and took his inner turmoil away...

* * *

This was it. The door opened and Zero stepped in. She stood in the middle of the large hall, spear ready at her side. Normally she would have waited for the room to fill with water before making herself known but she wasn't here to fight. "So you've made it this far-" His green blade told her he wasn't in the mood for talking. She let out a derisive sniff "You know, if you weren't so impatient you'd know I won't pick a fight with you. Quite the contrary actually..."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Tsk. Make up your mind already... I believe Girlie, I made some research on my end. The guy up there is no X. I want a piece of him too, so..."

"Phantom is dead."

The unexpected news floored her. "What? How?"

"Self-destruct."

She tried to wrap her mind around it. It was... not that unbevielable if she thought about it. Phantom always had his own alien way of thinking, a strange concept of honor he built his life around. And his death too, it'd seem. He always made a point of succeding even against impossible odds. "I see... I..." As if it wasn't hard enough already... "I'm still going."

He didn't let his guard drop. Not that she expected him too, he had no reason to trust her. "We're losing time. I'll take point, so feel free to cut me down the moment I step out of the line if you want." She disengaged her part of the locking mechanism and made her way to the door, he was still eying her warily and had not moved an inch. "What are you waiting for?" He answered with a grunt and followed from a safe distance.

They reached the gigantic stairway leading to X's 'throne' room without ressistance and made quick work of the mechaniloids there. She was now standing before the massive door. One more step forward meant there was no going back... One step back meant meeting Zero's blade... "Say, you knew it wasn't him from the start, right?"

"I found out when you did." Seeing she wasn't quite satisfied by his answer he continued. "It didn't matter before that. It still doesn't now."

"It doesn't matter?" It reminded her of some of the things the true X told her and her brothers back then. "I suppose it doesn't in the end..." X or not, it shouldn't have been what guided her in her choice. It still did but her doubts somehow vanished now. "Let's go."

AN: First thanks for the reviews!

Now I hope you liked this rather Phantom-centric chapter. It wasn't as good as the others but I felt I needed to elaborate on Neo-Arcadia's (and Copy-X's) descent into the authorative state it's in the Zero series. For all who care about it, yes I'm shamelessly picking up and leaving out stuff from the Complete Works as I please. I just couldn't have X leave the city without a word in the middle of an energy crisis... and since the middle of an energy crisis isn't the best of time to design reploids in charge of overseeing the (energy expensive) cleansing of the world I made the Guardians older (and who put a bunch of newbuilts designed for another purpose in charge of the whole nation's military? Capcom you say? I guess that explain it...)

The few Zero fanfic I read gave Copy-X some kind of flaw in construction that made him plain evil, here he was just dealt a very bad hand and genuinely tried his best. He's still got issues but that's for the next chapter. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions...


	5. Clash on a small surface!

"L-Levi?" That hurt. A lot. Fafnir looked liked someone just ate his kitten. A someone that hapenned to be one of those he trusted most...

"What's the meaning of this? Zero, whatever you d-"

"That's all me, Harpuia. Zero had little to do with this."

"Why? He killed Phantom! You... He..."

The two remaining 'loyal' Guardians were visibly shaken by the last development. Leviathan could hardly bear to look at them. She should have expected this, if she were in their place she would have forgo injury and gone to her father's side in a breath.

"Fafnir, Harpuia, please leave." The until now silent figure of the fake spoke.

"Master X!"

"We can't possibly-"

"I will handle it." The two Guardians hesitated than left the premises with their Trans Servers. "Why must you betray me so Leviathan?"

"I-"

Zero didn't seem like he had the patience for a conversation and ignited his saber. The fake only let his robes fall at that, allowing his armor to morph. The now white clad and multi-winged reploid advanced toward them. "You forced my hand... Prepare to receive judgment."

The first assault was brutal, overwhelming almost... In a way it was comforting. She had only seen the true X fight once, and it had notghing to do with what she was facing now. Before that she still held the shadow of a doubt about his identity, sending Harpuia and Fafnir away to spare them was something the true X would do, now she knew...

"Hahaha!" Zero and the fake were locked in combat, trading slash for tackle... They had go on without her. How rude. Taking aim with her spear she sent a barrage of icicles at the fake as he distanced himself from Zero. "I get you now! That's why you sent the other two away. Couldn't keep the charade up otherwise..." The projectiles bounced off the withe armor and the fake locked his red eyes on her.

He made use of his integrated buster, shooting fireballs at her. She was hard pressed to avoid the onslaugth, maybe she didn't manage to pierce his armor but she struck a nerve if his heigthened fury was anything to go by. She wasn't one not to press on an advantage. "Did I hurt your feelings? Well the truth hurts..." He was approaching a little too fast to her liking but Zero took advantage on the fake's focus on her and slammed into him landing a blow to his helmet on the way, one of his helmet's wings fell uselessly to the ground. "You don't even hold a candle to _him_." She sent another hail of icicles at the downed usurpator.

She was rewarded by a viscious takle to her midsection. The fake had completly bypassed Zero and went straight at her. "I am far greater than X ever was!" He began plummeting her, his fists encased in flammes. "I did what he never could! I was the on-" He was thankfully interupted by a heavy blow to the side, courtesy of Zero, that batted him away from her.

"I'd say your surpassed him indeed... in madness." Zero had caught on, that was good. ?The fake was obviously sloppy when angered. "And I know one thing: X never was that weak. And much more humble..."

The fake had gotten to his feet again, as she did. Fury was etched into his face, it wasn't the time to let up. "Yeah. He's clearly better at being arrogant. Exactly what you'd come to expect from-"

"A sub-par copy? Yes, that's exactly it."

The fake let out an impressive snarl and began to glow brightly. The light encompassed the whole room and when it faded a large winged figure replace the humanoid form of the fake. "Maybe we went a little too far..."

"I'll show you my true power!" Roared the copy.

"Maybe..." Zero leaped to the side as a flying column struck the space he previously occupied. Leviathan barely avoided her own and had to quickly get out of the falling floor. All that was left from it was a circular platform at the center of the room. "Don't slow down!" The fake was already shooting plasma beams at them...

They both were hard pressd to dodge the unending onslaught of beams, spikes and strange halos. The fake was keeping high out of reach too... It could hardly get worse. As if contradicting it the copy ceased firing and began to build up energy in his red forehead gem. Zero rushed back at Leviathan's side "Take cover!" his shield flared to life with a faint blue hue and he took a defensive position just as their enemy shot a laser down at the floor and began to swipe their small platform. Understanding dawning on her Leviathan brought the tip of her spear to the back of Zero's shield and forced as much energy as she could through it. The spinning shield expanded and solidified into the thick ice half-dome.

The initial impact shook their barrier and the ensuing inferno nearly melt it but it held strong. Not intending to let them time to get on the offensive the fake started his assault anew. The spiked columns began to get into position to strike down on the ground when Zero called out. "Now!" He dashed to one of the column and she rushed to the other a split second later. They jumped on an rebounded off their column's side toward the copy, weapon at the ready.

The fake couldn't avoid them and was struck simultaneously from both sides. The two allies dropped down to the ground and looked up, the damages they inflicted were important but the gashes were already closing before their eyes as the copy rose even higher and the columns flew away from them. He wasn't taking any chances now... Better to end this before he decided their to break the ground under their feet.

"Zero! The wings!" Leviathan brought he spear down and Zero didn't lose time jumping on it, she immediatly propelled him up with the strenght she needed to operate at high depths. Zero was going for the right wing, it left her the left then, Leviathan took aim and threw her spear like a javelin. Her projectile hit its target just as Zero sliced his own. Without anything to keep him in the air Copy X began to fall. Not one to let an oportunity go to waste Zero brought a mighty downward strike to his oponent in his own descent.

The two crashed down and Leviathan willed he weapon back into her hand, just in case. Her concern was unneeded however, as Zero rose up above the broken form of the downed reploid. They had won. The fake had not much time left. "Why..." It seemed he had difficulties accepting it... "Why... I was... supposed to be... the perfect copy... How can this be... possible... I was supposed to be... a hero..." The words had much more impact on her that she was comfortable with.

"Y-you could have been. But..." She didn't know what to say, there was a reason why even Phantom and Harpuia who spent the more time with the original and were the most like him did not see through the imposture, after all... One she'd rather not look too closely at.

"I've just remembered something... He was not as naive as you are." That was harsh... "That's what made him a hero." Still, she could see some truth in Zero's words.

Sadly, Copy X didn't take the comparison well. "I won't forgive you. I'll take you with me..."

'_THE FINAL DEFENSE LINE HAS BEEN DESTROYED SELF-DESTRUCTION MODE ACTIVATED IN AREA X ALL DANGEROUS ELEMENTS ARE TO BE ELIMINATED'_ That wasn't good. They barely escaped before Copy X exploded...

* * *

The top of the tower was nothing more than a burning ruin. No doubt everyone under the bio-dome would soon be aware of the thick black smoke that rose from the wreckage. The city was bound to fall into panic now. Leviathan's plan had been simple: get in, dispose of the fake, get out, all that without raising a fuzz. Then her brother would cover up the whole thing as only her deserting to avoid riots, they'd look into her personnal files and find the evidence she left there for them and this whole mess would resolve itself. With Phantom dead and an undeniable proof that something hapenned right there in the sky... She didn't dare provoke fate by thinking it couldn't get worse, but still...

"Wait!" Zero stopped at her call and looked at her inquisitively. She pointed at a corridor to their right. "I secured a Trans Server-"

"I won't come."

"What?" She didn't get it. Did he still not trust her?

"The resistance are evacuating their base. I'll keep Neo-Arcadia's army away from them."

"A decoy?" He nodded. "I planned to storm a prison... Get your guys and some others out. I can do it alone but I need to-"

"228.67. C0k8+MW-(Gbv54$. Ciel should be able to convince them to trust you." His ability to always be one step ahead kept astounding her.

"Got it." So they would go their separate ways. Yet, she still had questions. Rather important ones at that... "About what you said back then-"

She was interupted by a glowing ball appearing in the corner of her vision. Did they send cyber-elves search for them? "Don't let her get started. You'll regret it Zero." That voice!

"X."

"Master X!"

The elf's form shifted into a holographic projection of X's robed figure. "Why so formal? If I'd know..."

"D-dad?" The hologram smiled. "That's... You stole my fringe?" The shape at the front of his helmet was unmistakable, unimportant as it was...

"Well I got a spot of each of your brothers colors on me but that didn't work with you for obvious reasons so..."

"You can tell me if your playing favorite, you know?" She remarked Zero had left them some space. Her mood growing somber she continued. "About the others... Phantom, he's..."

"I know. I met him on the other side..." Leviathan's hopeful expresion told him enough, the cyber-elf incorporal hand rested over her shoulder. "I have special... circumstances. He's not doing fine but he's getting there. I'll make sure of it."

X 'stepped' back "I'll slow them down a bit. I'll talk to the both of you later. It was nice seeing you again, Leviathan, Zero. I'm so proud of all of you..." He faded away.

"I'll be going." Said Zero before dashing down the hallway.

"Hey! Wait!" He turned to her once more. "Best two out of three?" He didn't seem to get it. "You still owe me a fight so don't you dare dying on me!"

"If you're that eager to get hurt..." With what looked much like a taunt he left.

"First floor, west wing, at the end of corridor 2-B!" She shouted before he disappeared.

She ran down her own way. "I know you're still here." The ball of light reappeared at her side. "I don't know why you don't want my to talk about that and I'll respect it. And I guess you wanted us to deal with it by ourselve and that's why you didn't come to us. But please talk to Faf and Harpy, they need it. I know I did. Once they're done with my files..."

"I will. My inaction cost everyone too much already..."

"You're impossible, you know that? How can anyone tear into you when you're already beating yourself over everything already? You're no fun."

"Sorry."

"See! That's what I'm talking about."

"I know..." His tone was almost mishevious, that must be good. "I'll see you." And he was gone.

Leviathan dialed the Resistance's frequency and security key. "Remember me Girlie? Zero already filledd you in? Good! I'll need you to talk some sense into your guys. And I guess I'll play escort for you... I'm counting on you to get their mind straigh on that, don't want anyone getting the wrong idea."

'_Got it. We already made contact with another group. We'll be joining force with them on the way.'_

"I can't wait..."

* * *

The hangar at the end of corridor 2-B wasn't much to look at, it was empty except for a punching bag, tools littered on the floor, grease stains and, at the center of it, a red hover-bike.

"That could be useful..."

* * *

"HE STOLE THE FAF-MOBILE!"

AN: And that wrap up MMZ1! We're officialy getting off the rails. Now a little question for my readers! How do you like my fight scenes? Do you feel I'm worfing Zero, the Guardians, Copy X?

And since this chapter was a bit short here come some supplemental information.

**Please lie down on that sofa**

?: Gutentag everyone!

?: You may probably know of me already. Today, I, Dr Albert Wily, will guide you into the minds of two reploids and expose the nefarious effect the teachings of Light have to a machine well being!

Wily: Of course the dummkopf is the source of their issues! Why are you denying it?

Wily: Our first patient today will be Hidden Phantom!

Phantom: Hello.

Wily: Hallo mein kind! Now tell me, what drove you to throw your live away?

Phantom: Well, I promised my father I'd kill him if he ever lost sight of who he is. To my great shame I couldn't bring myself to raise my blade against him when the time came. Having so thoroughly failed my master I simply didn't deserve to live anymore. I only learned after it that it wasn't my father all along...

Wily: A waste really. Now what you don't realize, or refuse to, is that you fell victim to a fatal flaw in your programing, inherited from Light's creation, Rockman X! That overwhelming sense of duty and self sacrifice can only bring doom to the poor soul crushed under its weigth!

Phantom: I'm out of here!"

Wily: Nein! Don't go! You must face your issues, not bury them in denial.

Wily: Well, tht didn't go well... Now prepare for our second patient! Copy X!

Copy X: Greetings citizen.

Wily: My poor boy...

Copy X: I thank you for your concern human.

Wily:Nein! Nein! Nein! You don't understand a thing! Don't you realize your mistake? Turning against your own kind?

Copy X: I did what had to be done, unlike the coward X.

Wily: At least you got something right... Now let me show you the workings of your madness.

Wily: When the coward fake guide X break under the weigth of his lousy programming, the humans were left running in circles like headless chickens. In their near-sighted panic they built themselves a servant...

Wily: But worse yet, your conception was tainted by this original sin: you were built as a replacement for Rockman X! Therefore, in your very origin, in the deepest reaches of your soul, was engraved the notion that reploids were nothing but machine built for a purpose beyond which they held no value and that an unit could easily be discarded in favor of another one with superior specs! And thus began your sick obsession with surpassing X and you dismisal of reploids' intrincec value, laying the way of your tyrannical reign and self-hatred!

Copy X: True Justice lies within Humanity.

Wily: It's like talking to a wall... Well, we have no guests left so that's all for today! Auf Wiedersehen everyone!


	6. Rebel Tycoon

Ante-chapter AN: Sorry for the long delay! Oh! Remember when I told we were getting off the rails? I lied...

Neo Arcadia had gone to hell... This was the conclusion reached by its fire general. Not that it was a surprise, the city has been teetering on the edge from quite a while now, and even if it wasn't seeing their leader's living place going up in smoke would have been enough to send everyone in a panic. The troops he sent to enforce an emergency curfew were enough to keep the peace for the time being but if no official response to the people's worries came soon then no amount of Pantheon would be able to keep the city from falling into civil war. Self-destructing may be closer to the truth...

"Where did you go Harpy? It's just the two of us now..." He would have expected his brother to be at the helm, shooting orders and salvaging this mess, but Harpuia was nowhere to be found. With the Judges? Not there. The emergency room? Not there. The Senate? Not there. The tower's T.V studio? The military communication center? Freaking out under his bed? No, no and no. "Damn you, you moron!" Mumbled Fafnir as he exited his brother's room, taking some of his frustration upon the innocent door. That's when he got it...

Well, more like almost got it... His dramatic bursting into _her_ room was met by absolute silence as it was devoid of his intended target. It wasn't fruitless though, but he didn't know whether to take the scribbled note as an encouragement or as a jibe. 'A bit late but you're on the way' it read, so it was in a more subdued pace that he joined Harpuia who busied himself exploring the contents of Phantom's computer. "Should have known you'd be around here..." His only remaining brother barely let out a grunt of acknowledgment. "Found something worthwhile?"

"I don't know what I'd rather believe... Every scenario ranges from bad to worse."

"I don't think we can get any lower than this..."

"Leviathan thought Master X to be a maddened impersonator. Phantom thought the real deal went crazy and ask us to forgive him for not bringing himself to retire him."

"Just great..." Deadpanned the fire Guardian. "So either Phantom got crazy and Levi got crazier or Master X was the craziest of the bunch. And I'm _that_ close to make it a family tradition right now..."

"You called it."

"I guess it does look pretty bad, doesn't it?"

"Ye-" Began the two reploids at the same time before stopping dead in their tracks. Both exchanged a glance before turning toward the unexpected speaker.

"I think I finally lost it."

"Inconceivable!"

Fafnir managed to take some comfort in the fact that Harpuia apparently shared his hallucination. At least he would not be left alone in this madness... There had to be a trick of some sort! Fafnir reached a hand toward the ephemeral figure.

"I assure you that I am most definitely myself, though a bit less so." Stated the being that held the likeness of Master X.

"How?" Asked Harpuia, disbelief heavy in his tone.

"A very good question indeed, yet not one that can be answered adequately when pressed for time as we are. Let's just say that my spirit has been separated from my body for quite some time now." As if sensing their silent inquiry the being that may be X precised. "Six years, I believe."

It was all too good to be true. That hologram thing was telling them what they most desired to heard , that they had just not lost nearly everything in mere hours, that they was a way back... A trap if he ever saw one. And yet, there was this tiny possibility that it was true. This would be X displayed the tranquility and gentleness that left Master X as time went on and the situation deteriorated, what all four of the Guardians considered their most painful failure. All of it with _her_ shadow hovering in the background...

"We need the full story. Then we'll see."

* * *

The scent of saltwater was heavy in the lukewarm air which made for a most unpleasant combination, the harbor's activities while not excessively noisy were headache inducing enough, whoever said that intrepid reporters was for one glamorous lifestyle really needed to get their ideas straightened... Seeing her bodyguard signaling for a halt Neige took cover behind a nearby container. No way she'd let herself get caught now!

She had been trying to get to the African front ever since X publicly anounced he was going to take direct command of the troops securing Neo Avalon so she didn't hesitate when Craft called her around two in the morning saying he had found a way inside a military vessel. It didn't take a genius to know something fishy was going on there... And whatever it was, it was bound to be big. Not even a week after an attack that left Area X in flames and left them short two Guardians, one dead and one missing, was not what she considered ideal time for their much needed leader to sail across the ocean...

Of course there was an official reasoning behind that course of action: the city needed relief badly and keeping to Neo Arcadia's walls was not going to provide that anytime soon. That was why X himself went to the colony to ensure it would be hospitable as soon as possible and to face the apparently increasing maverick menace on the the world's largest continent. It did make sense, but it was a journalist duty to investigate anyway. Doubly so if access to the premises were forbidden, officially for security reasons...

"They aren't taking any chances... You were right, there is definitely something fishy going on." Spoke the bulky reploid in a low tone. It seemed he picked something from their 'expeditions', other than inbuilt weaponry that is. Maybe she'd be able to make a decent investigator out of him given enough time.

"Of course I am." She whispered back "Though I'm not sure to be happy about it."

"I see what you mean. Either the situation is as bad as they say or it's a cover for something worse. We may be other our heads."

"Well, we can't go back now."

"Neither can we go forward." Stated Craft. Taken aback by the declaration Neige rose her gaze up, following her bodyguard raised finger. She immediately understood as she saw the Pantheons aiming at them from atop the nearby containers. They were caught red handed. Her editor was going to kill her...

* * *

"Open the gates! 10%."

"Gates opened, 10%."

The low rumble of water rushing through the penstock resonated through the command center. The operators' anxiety was showing on their face. Among all the contrite reploids there was one standing out, with a smug smile upon his lips, his one visible eye set in cold determination and his arms crossed decisively in front of his chest commander Elpis was quite a sight. His hot pink coat may have contributed to the effect...

It had been a little over seven months since Ciel's group left their previous base and met with Elpis' own cell. Despite some initial tensions, which mostly pertained to the Resistance's newest member, the two groups blended together quite well and made haste in their way toward their future headquarters.

"The turbines have begun their rotation." Announced an operator. "Output increasing steadily. Plateauing at 1.21 GW!"

"Good. Increase the discharge, 20%"

"Rising up to 20%"

It was the location of this base that permitted Elpis and Leviathan to see eye to eye. The male reploid's idea was sound enough that the former Guardian dropped her usual disdainful attitude for the time being, which was enough of an ego boost for Elpis to tone down his distrust. Ciel suppressed a giggle at she thought back of their beginnings: the two reploids could prove to be quite bull-headed and had more in common that they would be comfortable with if they ever admitted it to themselves.

"You seem amused, doctor. I do hope it is not at my expense."

The commander was perceptive, as always... It was to be expected: he wouldn't have achieved what he did if he weren't. "Of course not! I was..." Elpis' expression was enough for her to tell he didn't buy her rebutal, and that he took some satisfaction in the whole ordeal. "Why do I always get the feeling you're the one making fun of me?"

"I'd never dare." The reploid assured her, yet his smile grew even wider. "I guess we both misjudged our common enthusiasm at our project upcoming completion."

"Yes, it must have been that."

"Commander, energy production stabilized just under 3 GW." Cut in an operator.

"Excellent!" Shot the pink clothed reploid. "Cut back auxiliary power sources. Congratulation everyone! We just achieved energetic independence. " The declaration was met by a round of applause. Everyone worked hard to get to that point and their efforts were finally rewarded.

"Well, that's one thing less to worry about." Mused the scientist.

"Indeed." Said Elpis. "Not only did we gain a constant source of power but, more importantly, we brought ourselves the perfect shield against Neo Arcadia's assaults. They can't afford to crush thi-"

While she usually appreciated the commander's drive, Ciel was of the mind that there could be too much of a good thing and so decided to tune out Elpis' umpteenth appraisal of his defense plan's ins and outs.

The sound of the crashing water blanketed nearly every other, even with her enhanced hearing she couldn't make out the conversation of the team some ten meters away. They'd better not be taking advantage of it! At least the guards noticed her arrival, the environment was prone enough to an ambush as it was... It was a shame though, as it was quite a sight. A heavy mist was rising from the impact of the powerful stream of water onto the rocky valley and from her vantage point Leviathan could see no less than three rainbows, quite the improvement to the wasteland they arrived to seven months ago. Water truly was live.

On that matter, the research team was already making their way back up toward the dam, and by the look of one of the scientific division member's face what they found ought to be good for her. "5.6" he said in a nod as the group reached her, good news indeed. That would teach that Elpis fellow not to mistrust her readings!

It was an open secret that her and the commander didn't see eye to eye, which was, in her humble opinion, mostly due in to the commander's fanatical, yet not fully unfunded, distrust of anything related to Neo Arcadia. That little fact made it so that while she managed to earn the trust of most of the Resistance, as she came to call it now, and even Elpis didn't consider her likely to betray them any time soon, her reticence toward certain operations being chalked up to sentimentalism, he still felt the need to upstage her any chance he got. So when she proposed to divert some of their energy excess to water treatment he was more than prompt to dismiss the feasibility of such a project. Now there wasn't any way for him to doubt she was able to reduce their reservoir's acidity. As if she'd ever fake her results...

Anyway, it was the genius behind their defense plan: make their base too invaluable for Neo Arcadia to just blow the whole thing up. Who in their right mind would bomb a functional hydro electrical facility in the middle of an energy crisis? Or a water purification plant when a substantial part of the energy needs was born from the need to artificially sustain what remained of the flora to prevent the ecosystem to collapse completely? Massive forest fires during the Elf wars saturated the atmosphere with carbon and while artificially cooling the pole(s) was complicated enough limiting the nefarious effects of the raise in water acidity was a completely different matter. Things had long gone beyond critical and no one could afford to lose what little control they had left.

And she was built to keep that from happening. She wouldn't let something as trivial as being branded a traitor and losing access to the city's vast resources make her slack off in her very important mission, damn it! Her former subordinates were bound to keep things running while this whole mess resolved itself, she'd make sure to remind them just why she was in charge...

Personal pride aside, the dam itself could not be considered the alpha and omega of their little deep jungle adventure. Of course the whole 'too precious to bomb' approach was good enough to deter heavy assaults, but not much else. Everything not involving artillery and the like was left to they numerous plasma canons, any large force would be easy picking be they coming from land or air. A small group of elite troops may be able to crawl to their doorstep but then she doubted some commando could hope to overcome her or, as much as she loathed to admit it, the commander.

Speaking of the commander, she found her steps took her to the command bridge's entrance, the guy was bound to be there and she had a bit of rubbing his face into her success to do... He was thankfully alone: he'd never let her go with what she had in mind if there were an audience. "Leviathan on report! Research team confirmed increase of pH from 3.8 to 5.6 at the dam's output, your highness." Elpis was radiating aggravation already, for someone as full of himself as he was it was truly a shame he didn't seem to appreciate his nickname... not! "Requesting permission to extend the system to the whole reservoir."

"I still believe the benefits don't outweigh the energy cost..." Deadpanned the commander.

"That's really too bad. I guess we smuggled Girlie a bathing suit for naught..." Such a low blow should not be that enjoyable. She'd almost feel bad.

Elpis made a magnificent effort at appearing nonchalant as he heaved a soft sigh and brought a hand before his eyes, not fully feigning annoyance yet still hiding his interest in that particular information. If they didn't know any better, one could really believe that his next words were born of resignation. "Do as you wish..."

"I think I'm speaking on behalf of most our men by thanking you for your glorious decision, your highness!"

* * *

Battling drones for months on end wasn't what one would call an exciting process, or if they did they would soon come to revise their opinion. Zero was no exception and while most would find the prospect of slowly loosing strength as they went aggravating at best he accepted it as a foregone conclusion, he wasn't a perpetual motion machine after all, and so, without the distraction of a damaged pride (his decline being scheduled), he was confronted to the dullness of his routine. Mow down Pantheon until energy levels become critical, take it up a notch and clean the surrounding area and then canibalize the enemy's remains to restore his reserves, rinse and repeat ad nauseam... In the event of imminent carpet bombing, dig a hole and take advantage of the situation to repair.

Of course luck would have it that the moment he received the coordinate of the new Resistance outpost he found out that he would have to get through the whole of the Neo Arcadian army sent after him to reach the place. Of course it was to be somewhat expected: he was running diversion after all, but was it too much to ask for the Resistance's base to be either a little further north or south just so he could get around the bulk of his opposition? Well, time was of the essence anyway... Kneeling down next to the hull of one of the sniper Pantheons that gave him trouble for the last week he picked up the sand colored poncho the things used as camouflage and threw it over his shoulders.

Taking in the barren landscape before him Zero made his departure.

AN: Yeah, as most of you probably guessed I arbitrarily made Brazil the games' location. As I have a limited knowledge of the official background I don't know if this is canon but there's plenty hints in the games themselves (IMHO). First is of course the Ragnarok shoot picture, the landmass looks awfully like the South American continent and the area the laser is hitting would then be around the Amazon's estuary. Then there's some piece of converging evidence: a Mayintec ruin being in range of the Resistance's censors (and the rainforest around it), Ciel liberal use of French (a descendant of scientist from Guyana?), Neo Arcadia being built around Lumine's space elevator so somewhere under the tropics, Neige's convoy being able to reach Area Zero by truck...

I hope (as always) that you appreciated the chapter. I'm still open to all reviews BTW. It's not that I like them or anything, and I'm absolutely not begging for them... GAAAH! Who am I kidding? Please don't reject me. My inner tsundere will not be able to bear it if you do. _~baka_


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